We're heading all the way to the Redcliffe peninsula in Australia today to chat to Eva Scott about her latest release. 'A Season to Remember' is a Christmas anthology from four Australia authors. So, here are the four authors, and a quick introduction to Eva...

Eva Scott writes contemporary romance set in her homeland of Australia and historical fiction set in the Ancient World. Her books offer passion and adventure in some of the most beautiful and intriguing places in the world. Her heroes and heroines are strong, sassy and ready to rise to their challenges, and learn a little bit about themselves along the way. Having lived overseas for several years, Eva returned to study Anthropology before heading off to live in Papua New Guinea for a year. There she met the love of her life, author G.W. Gibson, who was stationed there with the Australian Defence Force. The rest is history, romantic history. She now lives on the Redcliffe peninsula with her husband, small son and an assortment of animals. When Eva is not writing she enjoys mentoring first-time authors, cooking up a story, practising yoga and getting out on the bay on her stand-up paddle board. Eva is a member of Romance Writers of Australia; North Lakes Writers Group; Queensland Writers Centre and Australian Romance Readers Association. She is published by Musa Publishing and Harlequin Escape.Website: http://www.evascottromance.com/

And the book...

A Season to RememberA Christmas anthology from four Australian authorsEva Scott, Susanne Bellamy, Elizabeth Ellen Carter, and Noelle ClarkRelease Date: November 28, 2014

Four short stories on the Christmas theme, spanning time, places. Uplifting, funny, thought-provoking, heart-warming, ‘A Season to Remember’ will make your heart sing.

A Season To Remember: All That Glitters By Eva ScottMolly is a modern day Cinderella, second best to her half-sister Aimee and never measuring up to her step-mother’s expectations. Now Aimee has the chance to marry an elderly millionaire and Molly is expected to keep the man’s grandson, Connor Rathmore, from sabotaging the event. Handsome, charismatic and very, very sexy - how is she going to keep him from sabotaging her heart?To find out more about the other stories and authors, and to download your FREE copy click here!

Can you tell us a bit more about the Gold Coast and why you used it as the setting for your story? The Gold Coast is a huge tourist town on the south coast of Queensland, Australia. There’s an element of the GC that’s all about the superficial glitz and glam but there is another Gold Coast underneath that’s earthy and regular. Sometimes that version is hard to see in amongst the theme parks, shopping precincts, night clubs and endless beaches. I used the Gold Coast as a setting for my story because its duality highlights my heroine Molly’s conflict of being true to herself versus what her stepmother wants her to be.If you had a choice where would you choose to live, and why?Up on the Sunshine Coast hinterland just north of where I live now. Gorgeous lush green mountains with cute little villages and such a laid back vibe. Views out to the ocean and plenty of rain (we seem to be in drought most of the time so this fact is super important.)What comes first when you write a story? (e.g. characters, title, conflicts, setting)It varies all the time. Sometimes I get the whole shebang at once and sometimes it will start with a really interesting character and I have to nurture them to get the story.

Can you name five characteristics we’re likely to find in your heroes, and same for heroines?Heroes1.A sense of humour2.Perseverance in pursuit of the heroine3.A strong need to do what’s right and protect4.A disregard for authority (to some degree)5.Nothing Metro about any of themHeroines1.Looking for their freedom in some way or another - either from a situation, bad dating cycle or in the case of my Roman historicals, their actual freedom!2.Feisty and opinionated3.Usually strong minded business women/leaders4.Women who prefer to take action than wait for something to happen

What’s your idea of a perfect day?Sleep for as long as I need to (read ‘not getting woken up by my 4 year old’) then beachside yoga followed by brekky at my favourite seaside café then a spot of paddle boarding before heading home for a nap then lying about in the garden reading with a fat glass of red wine while hubby cooks up a bbq.

Can you tell us anything about your next book?The Untamed Celt is the last in my Roman trilogy and follows the tale of Alexa, who appears briefly in Barbarian Bride (Harlequin Escape). In the other two books (The Last Gladiatrix and Barbarian Bride) both the girls were barbarians but this time it’s the hero! He’s a member of the tribe Brigantes, a Celt from Britannia, who has come to Rome to be schooled in Roman politics. He gets more than he bargains for when he meets Alexa.

If you weren’t a writer, what would be your next choice of career?I was a trainer and a project manager before I became a writer so I’d be happy to return to those careers as I really enjoyed them. Having said that I’d be happy to go in a completely different direction and try something out of the box. Open to all possibilities.Thanks for stopping by Eve!

Excerpt“Well, are you ready?” She sounded rude but it was all she could manage to say. On the way over to pick him up she’d been too preoccupied to consider him at all. Instead she replayed the conversation she’d had with her stepmother. After receiving a reprimand for arriving late, Maria had grilled her over Connor Rathmore and found her answers less than satisfactory. Then the lecture started on her appearance. Where were the shoes? She’d kicked off those horrible expensive shoes at the airport and hadn’t given them another thought. An unforgivable act in her stepmother’s eyes. It was impressed upon her that she must try harder and remember her sister’s happiness. Of course. Molly loved her half-sister, Aimee, despite the fact the girl was spoilt rotten. Underneath all the embellishments she really did have a good heart. It wasn’t Aimee’s fault she’d been raised to be a life-sized doll.She appraised the man before her. She steeled herself not to react to him. When he’d opened the hotel room door, more primal male than any man she had ever encountered, something unexpected happened to her. Bam! Right to the heart. Very inconvenient and impossible, the idea could not be entertained. Not for a millisecond. The consequences would be devastating.“Good evening to you too.” He bestowed what she assumed was his best killer smile. “Shall we go?” He stepped through the door, so close the heat radiating off his body hit her like a furnace. Her natural reserve began to melt. The scent of him was so… masculine and her knees wobbled as she caught her breath. Moving away wasn’t an option, even if she tried.He smiled as if aware of the effect he had on her. Without looking back he strode towards the elevator and pushed the button. They stood in silence side by side while they waited. The animal magnetism between them shimmered, increasing with every passing second.Molly’s senses scrambled. She stumbled into the lift. This situation would need careful handling. The man beside her must not guess his presence caused a meltdown. Her attraction to him created a complication she did not need. Just one week. Please help me make it through this one week. If her stepmother suspected an attraction between Molly and Connor, all hell would break loose.

The lovely Debbie Johnson from Liverpool, in the UK, is sharing news of her latest release today. A wonderful winter warmer to get you in the mood for Christmas!

Debbie Johnson lives and works in Liverpool, where she divides her time between writing, caring for a small tribe of children and animals, and not doing the housework.

Her first novel, Dark Vision, was published by Del Rey UK in March 2014. A smart, sassy fantasy romp, it tells the tale of Lily McCain, ordinary Liverpool girl with just a few small hang-ups...like seeing visions of people's futures when she touches them. Reviews of Dark Vision included: 'A deftly told entertainment that shows there is certainly room in the world for a Liverpudlian Charlaine Harris' (The Guardian); 'a vibrant and sexy fusion of urban fantasy and Celtic mythology' (Starburst), and 'must read' (Daily Express Saturday magazine). The follow-up, Dark Touch, will be out in spring 2015.

Debbie also writes humorous contemporary romance, and her first title - Cold Feet At Christmas - is released by HarperImpulse on November 6th: a festive tale of snow-bound fun, and finding love in the most unlikely of situations!

Q. Can you tell us a bit more about Chicago and Scotland and why you used them as the setting for your book? I first got the idea for the book when I was walking my pooch in the middle of a snowstorm – it felt very eerie, very unreal. Like anything could happen! So I had these thoughts, about a woman running away from what should have been the happiest day of her life, and ending up stranded in a blizzard in the middle of nowhere – in her wedding dress! And when you’re thinking about that kind of setting and you live in the UK, Scotland seems the perfect choice – I’ve spent many a happy time there in exactly the same conditions (not in a wedding dress, I hasten to add!) – it feels kind of mystical, a real winter wonderland, which you need for a Christmas book. The story later moves to Chicago – I wanted to add a bit of glitz, and take my heroine, Leah, outside her comfort zone and see what happened. My best friend was living in Chicago at the time, so it was a city I had a feel for – and one where I could pick someone’s brains about it!

Q. If you had a choice where would you choose to live, and why? Mainly I am quite happy living where I am, near the beach just outside Liverpool. We kind of have the best of both worlds – beautiful coastline, but also one of the world’s most cultural cities. But I also wouldn’t object to a nice cottage in the countryside, or an apartment in the East Village in New York, or a flat in Paris...I’m just waiting for my Lottery win!Q. What comes first when you write a story? Usually just an idea – that could be a scene, a character, a situation, an atmosphere, or even just a name! It always starts small, with something interesting my brain conjures up, then I build the rest of the story around it.

Q. Can you name five characteristics we’re likely to find in your heroes, and same for heroines? Heroes: let’s not be coy, they need to be smoking hot – which can come in a variety of forms, but they do need to be physically attractive! Charisma – that undefinable something we’ve all found in people during our lives that makes you believe in them. Humour – even in the darkest of situations. Skill and experience – in both the bedroom and their profession. Secrets – something in their past that has made them more fascinating, possibly damaged, but always, always interesting.Heroines: humour – I can’t write about women who don’t laugh! I always need my ladies to see the funny side of their disasters, or at least try to! Integrity – their own moral code, which they always try and stick to. Work ethic – I’d prefer for them to have their own goals, careers or ambitions than simply be buying into the Princess myth! Warmth – I prefer my heroines to be the kind of women you’d go to the pub with, not ice maidens! Sexiness – seems unfair to list ‘smoking hot’ for the men and not acknowledge it in a heroine – but sexiness is slightly different, I think, and allows for physical imperfections that are offset by character, charm and allure.

Q. What’s your idea of a perfect day? Spent somewhere warm and beautiful with my family, watching the kids play (without a single argument, as this is a fantasy!) while I tuck into a huge pile of books.And my husband constantly goes to the bar to replenish my glass.Q. Can you tell us anything about your next book?I also write urban fantasy, and my first published novel was Dark Vision – about a normal Liverpool girl who falls into a world of Gods, Goddesses, vampires and witches. That came out with Del Rey (part of Random House) last March, and the sequel Dark Touch is out next March. I also have my next HarperImpulse lined up, which involves a farm, cute kids, a struggling momma bear and the author with a dark side who ends up staying in her holiday cottages...Q. If you weren’t a writer, what would be your next choice of career?I have always been a writer – first journalism, now this, and also copywriting. But I think perhaps I might have enjoyed law – I have a good eye for detail, a good memory, and also really, really enjoy a good argument!Thank you Debbie! Now, on to the book....

Cold Feet at ChristmasRunning out on your wedding shouldn’t be this much fun!A remote Scottish castle on a snowy Christmas Eve. A handsome husband-to-be. A dress to die for. It should have been the happiest day of Leah Harvey’s life – but the fairytale wedding turns sour when she finds her fiancé halfway up the bridesmaid’s skirt just hours before the ceremony!Fleeing the scene in a blizzard, Leah ends up stranded at the nearest cottage, where she collapses into the arms of its inhabitant – a man so handsome she thinks she must have died and gone to heaven!

And when Rob Cavelli suddenly finds himself with an armful of soaking wet, freezing cold, and absolutely gorgeous bride on the run, he’s more than happy to welcome her into his snowbound cottage this Christmas…

And before you run off, can you share a little excerpt?ExcerptJimmy Choo’s finest. Pleated white satin. Four inch heels. £500 a pop. For that, you’d expect them to be waterproof, thought Leah Harvey. Or at least to come with jet packs so she could fly out of this godforsaken frozen wasteland, and off to the nearest hotel.Ideally one with a spa, hot and cold running chocolate and Greek god waiters who hand-feed you peeled grapes.Instead, she was here. In the snow. On Christmas Eve. In the middle of Scottish countryside so remote even the bloody sheep looked like they’d need a sat nav to find their way home.The lights on the dashboard flickered on and off, casting a final ghostly neon glow before fading into nothingness. She turned the key in the lifeless ignition for the fifteenth time; held her frozen hands in front of the now defunct heating vents, and swore. Long, loud, and with such creative use of foul language that eventually she honked the horn to drown herself out. A self-imposed bleep machine to hide the fact she could make a flotilla of sailors blush.

She undid her seatbelt, noticed that the elegant satin of her ivory dress was now crushed and creased beyond redemption. Not that it mattered. It’s not like she’d be using that particular piece of haute couture again.

Climbing out of the cocoon of the car, her feet immediately sank ten inches into freezing cold snow. Her bare shoulders shook with cold, and her fingers and toes decided they weren’t even connected to her body as the chill factor took hold. More swearing. This time without the bleep machine. Nearby foxes were probably holding their paws over their cubs’ ears.

Great, she thought, turning round to kick the broken-down piece-of-crap car that belonged to her cheating bastard husband-to-be, scuffing the Jimmy Choos in the process. Just great. The perfect end to a perfect day. A gust of icy wind howled up the skirt of her dress, frost nipping at places it had no right to be. Not on the first date, at least. She should be wearing bearskin in weather like this, not a skimpy stretch of silk masquerading as underwear.She had two choices, Leah decided, teeth chattering loud enough to turn her into a one-woman percussion section. Option One: stay in the car. Wait for help that might never come, as nobody had a clue where she was. Including her. Freeze overnight, and potentially get pecked to death by starving crows she’d be too weak to fight off. The only things left of her would be satin stilettos and her engagement ring.Option Two: do a Captain Oates and head off across the field to the light she could just about see in the distance. A light must mean habitation, which must mean a human being. Possibly a psychopathic serial killer, or maybe a sex-starved sheep farmer planning Christmas dinner with his collection of blow-up dolls...which, she decided, hitching up the soggy hem of her gown, was still preferable to the crows-pecking-out-eyeballs scenario. She headed for the light.

As she trudged through the fields of snow, she conjured up a playlist of Christmas songs in her head to try and cheer herself up. Or at least help her resist the urge to simply lie down in the ice and sleep. Feed the World. Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire. Merry Christmas, Everyone...yeah, right, she thought, slinging her bag over her shoulder and continuing the slow, painful trek to her saviour.A saviour who probably had one eye, a large collection of shotguns, and slept with his teeth in a jar.***And here's where to grab your very own copy of the book, happy reading!Cold Feet at Christmas